#511 


I  milium 


No.  34. 

WHERE  ARL  THE  CHRISTIANS  IN  THE  ARMY? 

BY    A     LADY-  OF    NORTH    CAROLINA 


Not  long  since,  a  returned  soldier  WM  lament- 
ing the  immorality  of  the  camp.  Though  not  a 
professor  of  religion'  himself,  he  deeply  deplored 
the  desolating  tide  which  is  sweeping  almost  unre- 
sisted over  the  arms,  and  threatening  to  engulf, 
in  one  common  ruin,  the  hopes  of  the  country  and 
the  church. 

"Where,"  he  was  asked,  'are  the  christian 
men  who  have  gone  to  the  army  ?  Is  not  their  in- 
fluence ielt  in  checking  this  fearful  flood  V 

"Ah,  no!  they  lose  their  religion  as  soon  aw 
they  come  into  camp,"  was  the  mournful  re- 
ply- 

Young  man,  is  this  your  sad  case?  Have  you 
Lost  your  religion  since  you  Joined  the  army  ? 
What  position  do  you  occupy?  You  profa&  to  be 
a  christian.  You  have  enlisted  under  the  great 
Captain  of  our  salvation,  thus  engaging  to  fight 
his  battles  and  to  induce  all.  whom  you  can  influ- 
ence, to  join  his  ranks.  How  many  recruits  have 
you  rallied  to  His  standard?  TTow  often  have  you 
borne  aloft  that  bright   and  unsullied  banner,  with 


2  WHERE  ARE  THE  CHRISTIANS,  AC 

the  name,  '*  Immanuel,"  emblazoned  on  its  ample 
folds  ?  Are  the  weapons  of  your  warlare  tarnished 
by  disuse?  Does  your  sword  rust  in  its  scabbard 
because  it  is  no  longer  wielded?  Are  you  sleep- 
ing on  your  post?  Laying  aside  figures,  I  ask, 
are  you  living  up  to  your  profession  in  spite  of  the 
temptations  around  you  ?  Are  you"  letting  your 
light  so  shine,  that,  others  "may  see  your  good 
.works,  and  glorify  your  Father  which  is  in  heav- 
en?" 

.  While  at  home,  surrounded  by  the  influences  of 
the  sanctuary,  and  enjoying  the  other  means  of 
grace,  you  found  it  comparatively  easy  to  be  con- 
sistent. Loved  ones  believed  that  all  was  well 
with  you  and  you  were  held  up  as  a  model.  Now, 
however,  the  scene  is  changed.  You  go  forth, 
from  the  influence  of  a  godly  mother  or  sister,  and 
are  ushered  into  scenes  of  vice  and  wickedness  of 
which  you  had  formed  no  previous  conception. 
The  hours  of  morning  and  evening  devotion,  which 
before,  had  been  so  carefully  observed  in  the  retire- 
ment of  your  closet,  are  now  disturbed  by  the  scot-, 
fer's  jest  and  the  rude  laugh.  The  holy  Sabbath, 
which  has  been  devoted  to  communion  with  your 
God,#i  now  profaned  by  sounds  of  sinful  merri- 
ment. That  name,  which  you  have  been  taught  to 
utter  with  profoundest  reverence,  you  now  hear 
echoed  in  fearful  desecration. 

How  have  these  things  affected  you  ?  At  first,  I 
know  you  shuddered  to  breathe  the  atmosphere  of 
pollution, and  your  soul  recoiled,  with  horror,  from 


contact  with  such  depravity.  Gradually,  however, 
the  ribald  jest  and  the  profane  invocation  became 
familiar  sounds  and  no  longer  grate  on  the  ear. 
You,  ere  long,  contentedly  "  stand  in  the  way  of 
sinners, "  and,  before  you  are  aware  of  the  growing 
influence  of  the  Evil  One,  are  sitting  "  in  the  seat 
of  the  scornful."  Where  now  is  the  mtmory  of 
that  mother's  parting  admonition?  Where  the 
hallowed  influence  of  the  closet  and  of  that  Vol- 
ume, now  neglected,  which,  was  once  a  light  to 
your  path  and  a  lamp  unto  your  feet?  Where  are 
the  vows  ot  consecration,  by  which  you  were 
pledged  to  labor  for  your  Captain  ? 

In  the  hour  of  battle,  when  such  solemn  inter- 
ests are  at  stake,  does  not  your  General  call  on 
each  man  to  do  his  duty?  That  is  a  moment  when 
there  can  be  no  faltering.  Let  a  man  cower  and 
shrink  back — how  quickly  he  is  branded  as  a  cow- 
ard! Let  him  become  a  deserter — how  fearful  is 
his  doom  !     ' 

Thus,  in  the  sterner  conflict  of  this  daily  war- 
fare, does  the  great  Captain  of  our  salvation  call  on 
each  christian  soldier  to  fight  his  battles.  Will 
you  strain  every  nerve  to  achieve  the  victory?  Or 
will  you  fall  back  from  his  ranks  and  prove  a  de- 
serter? In  this  hour  so  trying  to  men's  souls; 
wheiT  our  adversary  is  casting  his  skillful  net  far 
and  wide, and  entangling  numbers  of  precious  ones  in 
its  dreadful  ineshcs  ;  when  so  many  are  being  hurried 
into  the  realities  of  eternity;  oh, christian  man, do  you 
stand  by,  eager  to  speak  a.  word  for  your  Master? 


4  WHERE  ARE  THE  CHRISTIANS,  AC. 

Do  you  tell  dying  sinners  of  the  love  of  Jesus?  Do 
you  point  them  to  the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world?  Do  you  whisper  in 
their  ear  the  preciousness  of  the  believer's  joy  ? 
When  this  bloody  strife  is  over,  and  you  return  to 
your  quiet  home,  will  you  then  have  the  sweet  rec- 
ollection of  having  led  one  wanderer  in  the  path  to 
heaven?  In  this  field,  white  unto  the  harvest, 
how  many  sheaves  are  you  binding  for  your  Mas- 
ter? Keflect  on  these  things,  and  work  while  the 
day  lasteth. 


WATCH  AND  PRAY. 


My  soul,  be  on  thy  guard, 

Ten  thousand  foes  arise; 
The  hosts  of  sins  are  pressing  hard, 

To  draw  thee  from  the  skies. 

Oh,  watch,  and  fight,  and  pray; 

The  battle  ne'er  give  o'er  ; 
Ilenew  it  boldly  every  day, 

And  help  divine  implore. 

Ne'er  think  the  victory  won, 

Nor  once  at  ease  sit  down  : 
Thy  arduous  work  will  not  be  done 

Till  thou  hast  got  thy  crown. 

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Hollinger  Corp. 
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